Rush to Judgment [Lucianne's Singularly Thoughtful Column on Rush's Drug Problem]

Lucianne.com Short Cuts, October 13, 2003 ^ | October 13, 2003 | Lucianne Goldberg

[paulklenk]

Only hours after the news broke, Katie Couric thought Rush Limbaugh's drug problem was funny. So funny as a matter of fact, that she made up a story about sitting next to him on the plane and asking for an aspirin - you get the rest. She told it with a baby-girl hair flip. It wasn't funny.

During the Democrat debate last week, John Kerry thought Rush's pain was funny and took a shot. That wasn't funny either.

For hard-pressed liberals, merchandising Rush Limbaugh's admitted pill addiction will be an interesting test of individual sensitivity and a telling reality check and we'd better brace ourselves. Response from the left will probably follow the line of Newsweek's cover story today; he's a shy, loner, schlub and hypocrite -- heavy on the hypocrite. They describe him as a solemn couch potato with few friends, an aversion to nightlife and a kid who stayed in his room with water balloons on Halloween, then dropped them on the departing trick-or-treaters (frankly, my kind of guy). They write with self-rightous glee at his misfortune that he is an "actor" filled with self-righteous glee at the misfortunes of others.

This merry-go-round is just cranking up and we will hear much more of the same and worse about him in the days to come. This is their irresistible right and inevitable. To counter it, pundits on the right will revisit the drowned girl at Chappaquidick, other known addicts, the drunks, embezzlers, and jailbirds - the whole panoply of losers on the left. We've all been there before.

There is no way to stop the ranting and high-fiving. They will do it until they get bored with themselves and move on. Now that Rush has admitted his problem it is all fair but it is a dangerous game and the more thoughtful among them may want to rethink their commentary.

How truly funny is drug addiction and who among them has not had their hearts broken by it? How taxing is it to whip up jokes about rehab? How amusing is it to know that a public figure has begged a servant, a friend, a colleague even a stranger for a hit or fix because they fear they would go mad without it.

Are there truly any yucks in knowing that someone had stockpiled thousands of pills just in case....just in case....there isn't a painless instrument around with which to kill themselves if they run out? When the early jokes give way to the righteous rants will they be delivered by those who haven't a clue about the terror that is drug addiction?

As much as I can't stand them, I do not wish this for those who will feast upon Rush Limbaugh's pain: The call in the middle of the night that a beloved child has been arrested for DWI or picked up in a crack house or hung themselves. The realization that a wife or husband or loved one whose personality has changed has been stealing stuff, maxing out a credit card has been sneaking pills from somewhere and is hopelessly addicted. I do not wish them the expense and agony of waiting for someone they love to maybe make it through rehab and maybe not. I do, however, wish they could look into their souls and ask if they have the strength to survive what Rush Limbaugh will go through to get his life back.

But, politics ain't beanbag and they are going to have at this situation - first with the jokes, then with the indignation and I-told-you-sos. They can't help themselves and frankly, we couldn't either if Al Franken got picked up in a motel with an underage boy or an overage goat. That's the way this game is played. It will never change so their behavior is not the point.

People, decent people, have hearts. They are loyal to their friends and steadfast in time of trouble. Our commitment should be standing by Rush Limbaugh. He has given us hope and help and a way of seeing the world.

Remember when being a conservative was a very lonely business? Remember when we huddled in Rush Rooms and were almost afraid to listen to him on the radio with passengers in the car. Think what the Clinton years would have been like without Rush. None of that is diminished by his current problems.

We are 20 million strong. We can do anything we set our minds to and have the track record to prove it. The operative word here is 'strong' and a healthy, productive Rush Limbaugh, who knows how grateful we are, is the goal. Perhaps he can do it without us but I, for one, don't want him to.

-Lucianne Goldberg

[jos65]

Roger that!!!!

[flutters]

What a great article. Thanks for posting it.

[Humidston]

I saw a clown from the Enquirer last night with Geraldo on FNC.

The clown said, "More bad information is coming in the Enquirer," and he seemed very pleased with himself.

[jos65]

Get a grip dumbass,Rush has a serious back problem.

[dblshot]

Drug use and tales from old girl friends certainly ruined Elvis' reputation and earning power - NOT.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Only hours after the news broke, Katie Couric thought Rush Limbaugh's drug problem was funny. So funny as a matter of fact, that she made up a story about sitting next to him on the plane and asking for an aspirin - you get the rest. She told it with a baby-girl hair flip. It wasn't funny.

Any links to this?

---

http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20031007.asp#6

[theDentist]

Those were in the day or so before he announced it.

I'd imagine Kewpie Couric will laugh just as hard if someone tells her a joke about colon cancer as well. {/sarcasm}

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Think what the Clinton years would have been like without Rush. None of that is diminished by his current problems.

AAUUUUUUuuuuUUUUUuuggggHHHHHhhhhhh!!!!!

I can't even bear the thought.

Rush's friends will still be his friends when this is all over, and who cares about the rest?

[Allan]

Bump

[SuzanneC]

Thanks, Paul. YaYa - I know you've seen this.

[GOP_Proud]

I really think after his gracious humility in his announcement last Friday they can't go far with the ridicule without a big backlash.

[over3Owithabrain]

I saw some of that Geraldo piece, but didn't hear what you are quoting. But I fear all the feces hasn't hit the fan yet. I don't think Rush will be back in 30 days for a number of reasons. You don't reach the pitiful level of addiction that he has without piling up the skeletons in your closet.

[ambrose]

bump.

[Lucky2]

I've always found Lucianne to be a class act. This article just proved it for me. God bless you Rush, my good and faithful friend.

[Humidston]

Touche!

[Dolphy]

I've always found Lucianne to be a class act.

I have too. For any of us, even if just a few times in the past, who have looked forward to hearing Rush or having him pick us up during dark political times, Lucianne is exactly right when she says:

People, decent people, have hearts. They are loyal to their friends and steadfast in time of trouble. Our commitment should be standing by Rush Limbaugh. He has given us hope and help and a way of seeing the world.

[DustyMoment]

Since this is a Lucianne article, we must curb our tongues lest we be censored and booted off. (/sarcasm)

I have to agree with the poster that stated that if the situation were reversed and this was all about a Dem instead of Rush (especially if the Dem was Teddy Chappaquiddick, either of the Clintons, Daschle, Kerry, you get the picture) I might . . . MIGHT be less sympathetic.

By the grace of God I have never experienced the kind of pain that requires pain killers the like of OxyContin and others to which Rush was addicted. I have no way to understand what he or anyone in that situation goes through. I have stated previously that I don't know how I will react when Rush returns to the air. He is someone to whom I have looked up for years. He has helped me keep my moral compass centered and has guided me through the lies, manipulations and fabrications of the left.

I honor him for owning up to the problem and taking steps to address it once and for all. I wish he hadn't waited until someone else announced it and dropped the hammer on him.

I want to see Rush well, healthy and drug-free as much as the next person on this thread. I will listen to him when he comes back. However, I am still sorting through my feelings about the whole episode and don't know if he will have the same effect he once did.

The sick jokes are inevitable. They are geared to make us mad. If we let them make us mad, we will lose our focus and make big mistakes. Rush is getting what he needs right now, none of us can do anything about that. We can help him, however, by making sure that the leftists don't get a free ride in his absence. We can make sure that he knows that when he returns to the golden EIB mic that all of his words and all of the hours he has spent on the air weren't for naught. We can show him that we have learned the lessons and are ready to learn more.

[Humidston]

You didn't see that guy from the Enquirer looking waaaay down his nose at the camera as he hinted at "more to come?"

I watched his haughty facial expressions as he spoke and my skin began to crawl!

And I totally agree about the length of time we may be without Rush. Actually, he may even choose to retire. After all, why does he need all this crap when he could retire and walk away from people dissecting his every move and criticizing everything he says?

[elbucko]

Making light of JFK's or Rush's health problems or medication regimen or anyone else's real health problems lowers civility for everyone.

Exactly. The media would like to make this be a; "Rush is a doper, nah nah, nah nah nah", story. But it's is not. It's about a failed medical procedure performed on a celebrity that the medical community did not want to take responsibility for its failure.

Were I a journalist, I would investigate the number of back surgeries in the US and their outcomes. I'll bet, truth be known, that what happened to Rush is more common than the FDA would care to admit. After all, they also approve medical procedures such as the "Lamenectomy", that was performed on Rush.

[elbucko]

Rush's friends will still be his friends when this is all over, and who cares about the rest?

DITTO!